Wi-Fi™ technology is defined by specifications from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards. In general, Wi-Fi™ technology enables computerized devices such as laptop computers, mobile phones, tablet computers, etc., to wirelessly connect to a corresponding computer network. Via a respective wireless link, computer devices can retrieve data over a network such as the Internet.
Conventional computer devices typically have the ability to identify a presence of WiFi™ access points in a corresponding network environment. For example, according to current Wi-Fi™ technology, and a passive scanning technique, each of the access points in a network environment transmits a beacon signal indicating its presence. The mobile computer devices monitor the region for beacons (i.e., wireless signals as generated by the access points) to determine which, if any, access points are present in the region. The mobile computer device selects a suitable access point amongst the multiple access points to establish a WiFi™ connection.
WiFi™ technology also can support an active scanning technique. In accordance with the active scanning technique, to learn of one or more access points in a region, a computer device can broadcast a wireless query signal in the network environment. In response to receiving the wireless query signal, any of one or more active WiFi™ network access points in the region will respond with information indicating their identities. The querying computer device receives and processes the responses. Via the response information from the access points, the operator of the computer can identify which, if any, WiFi™ access points are present in the region.
In certain instances, after identifying one or more publicly available WiFi™ networks, the computer device can be configured to initiate display of the identities of the different WiFi™ networks on a display screen for viewing by a respective user of the computer device. In such an instance, the user of the computer can manually select from a listing of the available WiFi™ networks in which to connect.
An alternative type of communication network is a CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) network. CDMA networks also enable corresponding computer devices to communicate over a network such as the Internet. However, in contrast to Wi-Fi™ technology, CDMA is known as a make-before-break type of handoff technology. In other words, during a respective handoff according to a cellular technology such as CDMA, a corresponding mobile phone device in communication with a first cellular tower establishes a wireless connection with a corresponding second cellular tower before dropping the corresponding link with the first cellular tower. Accordingly, communications over a corresponding CDMA type network are continuous and uninterrupted.
Unlike cellular telecommunication technologies (such as those based on CDMA technology) as discussed above, Wi-Fi™ does not have any specified handoff intelligence or protocols. This is because Wi-Fi was not designed or meant to be a mobility technology.